Bridgwater Strike, 1896

[bridgwatergirl]

Hi,

I printed off pages from The Bridgwater Mercury last time I was in Bridgwater and have been transcribing them.  Here's a list of B/w brickyard labourers who were had up before the magistrates for obstruction of 3 wagons of bricks towards the end of the strike in July.

John CRIDGE (Union St)
John PORTER (Union St)
William TURNER (Albert St)
Thomas ANGLIN (Albert St)
William GIBBS (Albert St)
George JARVIS (Albert St)
Thomas YOUNG (Albert St)
Ernest PALMER (Northgate)
Robert KINGSTONE (North Petherton)
Frederick KIERLE (Somerset Bridge)
George VICKERY (Somerset Bridge)
Frederick CREEDY (Monmouth St)

John VALENTINE (Edward St)
John PITMAN (Edward St)
Henry ALLEN (Railway Parade)
William SQUIRES (Railway Parade)
Levi HUMBER (St John St)
George HUMBER (St John St)
Charles HUMBER (St John St)
John SAWLEY (Somerset Bridge)
Rihard ESCOTT (North Gate)
Thomas KERSLAKE (St John St)
Charles PARSONS (Albert St)
Henry MANCHIP (Old Dock)
Henry COOK (Gloster Place, Friarn St)
William DEAN (Bailey St)
Walter POLE (Bristol Rd)
William MAY (Bristol Rd)
Joseph SEAMAN (Bristol Rd).

There were 2 separate incidents that took place before the lock-up in the town hall & I have the newspaper accounts of both, plus that of the proceedings of the Magistrates Court.  There's no individual mentions of these people, except for William May.  I would love to find someone related to him, as he decided to conduct his own defence and the account is absolutely priceless.

Other people involved were:
Waggon drivers:
Eustace George Orlando PEARCE
John KING
Henry APLIN

Police
PC CAVE
PC WEST

Maybe it'll be of interest to someone else?  And, as I said, I'd be thrilled to find a relative of Wm MAY.  (I tried looking for him on the census out of interest - he may be the son of Mary Ann May, born about 1861 in B/w, but it's hard to tell).

[bicker]

Hi there

Sadly my family are not relations of William May, but I was interested to see mention of a PC Cave. My husband's Cave family are from Bridgwater, but I have not seen any of the family listed as policeman in the various census....will have to look deeper!!

Regards Heather

[bridgwatergirl]

If you do, let me know - I'll send you the article!  (I'm sure it's PC Cave who reports about William May). 

[niseone]

Hi, how facinating, I have never heard of the strike. Sorry not to be able to help re William May, but my Great Grandfather was a William Turner who lived in West Street in1881, next street to Albert Street. He married Elizabeth Holman in 1885 this could be him I know he was a brickyard labourer.. -

regards Denise

[bridgwatergirl]

I wouldn't be surprised!  I'll pm you and see what I can do about sending the transcript on.  As a brickyard labourer, the strike would have affected him one way or the other & there's a could chance he was one of these men.